Housing Our Future:Now

10/25

It was a beautiful day for a march. Though it felt a bit more like Thanksgiving than Halloween. Crisp fall air. And sun. We gathered at 86th Street and Second Avenue to march to Gracie Mansion, Mayor Di Blasio's home. The march was in support of the "House Our Future" campaign...a call for 30,000 new homes. The point was obvious, I think. The mayor  has his home. A lot of New Yorkers don't.

A crowd that would grow to 250-300 or so is gathering. Marc Greenberg, Director of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (which I chair), asks me to help hold our banner.

Bob Brashear and Marc Greenberg with the banner

"Looks like a good crowd," he says. His broad smile reminds me that this is what Marc lives for. The gathering  of people, the marching, the chanting, the never ending struggle for housing justice that he has remained faithful to for decades.

The housing crisis which blossomed under Bloomberg has only worsened under Di Blasio. We now have record numbers of homeless, approaching 61,000. One third of those are working poor. Ten percent of city school children are homeless. It is scandalous. More so because Di Blasio campaigned as a progressive, promising 30,000 units, a promise yet to be delivered. (In more ways than one, Mayor Di Blasio, not unlike President Obama, came into office with a strong progressive base. And instead of using that base for truly progressive change has instead fallen into more traditional liberalism. Sad because the base is there...)

The march winds down 86th to East End. What do we want?Housing. When do we want it? Now. If we don't get it...shut it down..Hey, hey, 30K...and more chants. The crowd gathers.

In the crowd

A bombastic heckler is barely heard. There are homeless people working people, faith community people. People sharing their own stories. What will it take to be heard?

The Interfaith Assembly has been faithful to this witness since the "Kochville" occupation of City Hall Park thirty years ago in 1988. (See John Jiler's Sleeping With the Mayor ....https://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Mayor-Story-John-Jiler/dp/1886913145.) Founded by a faith community trio of steadfast witnesses Marshall Meyer, Dan Berrigan and my predecessor, Bob Davidson, Marc has led the IAHH through these many years. There would be no better way to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Kochville than action on the 30000 badly needed homes.